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Practice Paper Biology Paper 1
Practice Paper Biology Paper 1
Practice Paper Biology Paper 1
BIO
PAPER 1A HONG KONG EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY
HONG KONG DIPLOMA OF SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION
PRACTICE PAPER
BIOLOGY PAPER 1
(2 hours 30 minutes)
This paper must be answered in English
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
1. There are TWO sections, A and B, in this Paper. You are advised to finish Section A in about
35 minutes.
3. Answers to Section A should be marked on the Multiple-choice Answer Sheet while answers to
Section B should be written in the spaces provided in Question-Answer Book B. The
Answer Sheet for Section A and the Question-Answer Book for Section B will be
collected separately at the end of the examination.
1. Read carefully the instructions on the Answer Sheet. After the announcement of the start of
the examination, you should first stick a barcode label and insert the information required in
the spaces provided. No extra time will be given for sticking on the barcode label after the
‘Time is up’ announcement.
2. When told to open this book, you should check that all the questions are there. Look for the
words ‘END OF SECTION A’ after the last question.
4. ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. You are advised to use an HB pencil to mark all the answers
on the Answer Sheet, so that wrong marks can be completely erased with a clean rubber.
You must mark the answers clearly; otherwise you will lose marks if the answers cannot be
captured.
5. You should mark only ONE answer for each question. If you mark more than one answer,
you will receive NO MARKS for that question.
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–1 1
There are 36 questions in this section.
1. In a DNA molecule of yeast, 30% of the nitrogenous bases are guanine (G). What is the ratio of
cytosine (C) to thymine (T) in this DNA molecule?
A. 1:1
B. 2:1
C. 3:2
D. 3:7
2. The graph below shows the change in the amount of DNA in a cell which is undergoing cell division:
Amount of DNA in the cell
4
(arbitrary unit)
0 Time
t1 t2 t3 t4
Which of the following statements correctly describes the event that is taking place in the respective time
period?
3. The following diagram shows an animal cell with some of its organelles:
P Q
A. P and Q only
B. P and R only
C. Q and R only
D. P, Q and R
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–2 2
4. In an experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on the activity of a digestive enzyme X, the time
taken for the digestion of a fixed amount of substrate by this enzyme was recorded. Which of the
following graphs shows the most likely results of the experiment?
A. B.
enzymatic reaction
enzymatic reaction
Relative rate of
Relative rate of
(min–1)
(min–1)
Temperature (oC) Temperature (oC)
C. D.
enzymatic reaction
enzymatic reaction
Relative rate of
Relative rate of
(min–1)
(min–1)
Temperature (oC) Temperature (oC)
5. The table below shows the ratios of initial mass to final mass of three fresh potato cylinders which have
been immersed in sucrose solutions of three different concentrations for 30 minutes:
(1) The water potential of the potato cylinders is higher than that of solution P.
(2) There is a net movement of water from the potato cylinders to solution Q.
(3) Solution Q has a higher sucrose concentration than solution R.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only
6. In photosynthesis, photochemical reactions are essential for the carbon fixation that follows. This is
because in photochemical reactions,
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only
8. The graph below shows the rate of photosynthesis of a plant at different temperatures and carbon dioxide
concentrations when light intensity increases:
Rate of photosynthesis
30
15oC and 0.5% carbon dioxide
20 15oC and 0.02% carbon dioxide
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Light intensity (arbitrary unit)
Which of the following descriptions about the rate of photosynthesis of this plant can be deduced from
the graph?
A. Below 3 units of light intensity, light intensity is the factor limiting this plant’s
photosynthetic rate.
B. At 25 units of light intensity and 0.02% carbon dioxide, temperature is the factor
limiting this plant’s photosynthetic rate.
C. At 25 units of light intensity, 15oC and 0.5% carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide
concentration is the factor limiting this plant’s photosynthetic rate.
D. At 25 units of light intensity, 15oC and 0.5% carbon dioxide, this plant’s photosynthetic
rate doubles when the temperature is doubled.
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–4 4
Directions: Questions 9 and 10 refer to the following table, which shows six codons and the corresponding
amino acids translated from these codons:
—lysine—proline—histidine—aspartic acid—
Which of the following is the correct sequence of the nucleotides on the non-template DNA (coding
DNA) for this part of the polypeptide?
A. AAGCCTCATGAT
B. TTCGGAGTACTA
C. AAGCCUCAUGAU
D. UUCGGAGUACUA
10. The following shows the nucleotide sequences of two mRNA molecules, the first one being transcribed
from a normal allele and the second one from the mutated allele:
Which of the following amino acids is absent in the polypeptide translated from the mutated allele?
A. histidine
B. aspartic acid
C. valine
D. leucine
11. A couple has two children. The son is of blood group B and the daughter is of blood group A. Which
of the following is not a possible combination of genotypes of this couple?
(Note: The alleles responsible for the production of antigen A, antigen B and not producing antigen A or
B are represented by IA, IB and i respectively.)
12. Which of the following processes may increase the variation of a particular character within a
population?
A. 21
B. 28
C. 56
D. 63
14. Mr. Chan and Mrs. Chan are the biological parents of four children. The DNA profiles of Mr. Chan and
the four children are shown below:
Mr. Chan
child 1
child 2
child 3
child 4
A.
B.
C.
D.
15. Which of the following combinations shows the correct classification of the organism according to the
Three Domain System?
Which two of the above species should have the closest phylogenetic relationship?
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–6 6
17. The following dichotomous key can be used to identify five species of amphibian:
Use the above key to identify the three amphibians in the following photographs.
18. In an aquatic ecosystem, species X, Y and Z form a food chain. The following diagram shows the
pyramid of biomass of this ecosystem:
Species Z
Species Y
Species X
With reference to the above pyramid of biomass, which of the following statements are correct?
Fresh mass
P
Q
R
0
Time
Which of the following shows the most likely distribution of these seaweeds from the lower shore to the
upper shore?
A. P, Q, R
B. P, R, Q
C. Q, R, P
D. R, Q, P
20. In the table below, P and Q represent two types of relationships between different species of organisms.
The effect of each type of relationship on the species concerned is represented by the following symbols:
+ = gaining benefits
─ = being harmed
Which of the following combinations correctly shows the types of relationships represented by P and Q?
P Q
A. competition commensalism
B. mutualism competition
C. commensalism parasitism
D. mutualism predation
21. Which of the following is not a limitation of the use of fossil records as evidence for evolution?
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–8 8
22. Which of the following are necessary for speciation?
23. In constructing an evolutionary tree, it is assumed that the more similarities shared between two species,
the closer is their phylogenetic relationship. The amino acid sequences of a certain protein in five
species of organisms were analysed and compared. The following table shows the number of amino
acid differences between the amino acid sequence of species P and that of each of the other four species:
Species Q R S T
The number of amino acid differences between the amino 31 16 36 1
acid sequence of species P and that of the other species
Assuming that these five species of organisms arose from the same ancestral stock, which of the
following diagrams best represents the evolutionary tree constructed using the above information?
A. P T R Q S B. P T R Q S
ancestor ancestor
C. S Q R T P D. S Q R T P
ancestor ancestor
24. Which of the following descriptions about the regulation of the blood glucose level is correct?
A. The chemoreceptor in the liver detects changes in the blood glucose level.
B. The liver secretes more glucagon when the blood glucose level is low.
C. More glycogen is converted to glucose when more glucagon is secreted.
D. More glucose is taken up by cells when more glucagon is secreted.
Endocrine secretion
Hormone X
gland P
(2)
(1) Endocrine
gland Q
(3)
secretion
Hormone Y
Which of the following combinations correctly shows the regulation of hormone Y by a negative
feedback mechanism?
26. Which of the following parts of the human skin are responsible for preventing us from microbial
infections?
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–10 10
27. The diagram below shows a weight potometer used in an experiment. The leafy shoot was left in the
laboratory for 3 hours. The change in the reading of the electronic balance and the change in the
volume of water in the measuring cylinder were recorded. The experiment was then repeated under the
same environmental conditions with the upper surface of all the leaves of the shoot smeared with
vaseline. The results are shown in the following table:
28. The photographs below show the appearances of a flower at different times of a day:
8:00 am 2:00 pm
With reference to the appearances of the flower at the times shown, which of the following can be
concluded?
(1) The major support in the flower stalk is provided by the turgidity of the cells.
(2) The rate of water uptake of the flower is higher than its rate of transpiration at 8:00 am.
(3) The rate of water uptake of the flower is lower than its rate of transpiration at 2:00 pm.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only
A. (1) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only
30. The following graph shows the change in the air pressure inside the lungs within a period of time:
760
(mm Hg)
Time
t1 t2 t3 t4
Which of the following correctly describes what happens at the specified time period?
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–12 12
31. The following photograph shows a dissected pig’s heart:
Pulmonary artery
Q
P
A. Structure P contracts to deliver blood to various parts of the body except the lungs.
B. Structure Q receives blood from the pulmonary veins.
C. Structure R controls the opening and closing of the valve.
D. Structure S contracts to force the blood out of the heart through the pulmonary artery.
32. The photograph below shows the cross section of the umbilical cord of a foetus:
Blood vessel Y
Blood vessel X
Which of the following descriptions about blood vessels X and Y are correct?
(1) The blood pressure in blood vessel Y is lower than that in blood vessel X.
(2) There are valves along the length of blood vessel Y but not in blood vessel X.
(3) The blood in blood vessel Y has a lower oxygen content than that in blood vessel X.
3
2
There is a gas released by the leaf when it is placed in darkness. From which of the labelled cells is this
gas released?
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1 and 4 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1, 3 and 4 only
34. The following shows a table listing the results of the food tests for a piece of food and a diagram of the
human digestive system:
A. P and S only
B. Q and R only
C. R and S only
D. Q, R and S only
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–14 14
Directions: Questions 35 and 36 refer to the following description of an experiment, which was carried out
in the 1880s by a scientist, Christiaan Eijkman, for identifying the cause of the disease beriberi:
(1) Beriberi is not caused by the bacteria taken from chickens with beriberi.
(2) Beriberi is most likely non-infectious.
(3) Eating unpolished rice can prevent beriberi in healthy chickens.
36. In light of the results of this experiment, Eijkman used prisoners for testing whether the same cause led
to beriberi in humans. Which of the following should have been included in the experimental design so
that he could make a valid conclusion?
END OF SECTION A
PP-DSE-BIO 1A–15 15